In the flash of lightning
by Animaniac1017
Summary: Jean is afraid of thunder storms, Marco was always the one to help him...until something went wrong


I so didn't want my first uploaded story here to be this sad... but yeah...

sorry.

I have this thing where I imagine Jean is terrified of thunder and Marco always has to calm him down.

Feedback is much appreciated ^-^

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In the flash of lightning

Jean shot upright, a nervous sweat beefing his forehead. He flinched at the next loud crack of thunder echoing through the dark, empty room. He pulled his knees up to his chest, burying his face in his arms and biting back scared tears as the storm raged on.

Suddenly, he heard the low creaking sound of his room's heavy wooden door as it swung open, revealing a dark silhouette. Jean took a deep breath in, scared out of his mind as everything was happening.

"Hey Jean," he heard a soft, familiar voice say "It's me, Marco."

Jean exhaled slowly, trying unsuccessfully to calm himself down. "O-oh, h-hey Marco, I was just...uh..." His excuse was cut off by another loud clap of thunder, causing the boy to yelp and hide his face back in his arms.

He heard Marco's familiar small laugh as the boy walked up to where he sat on the bed. "I heard the storm, and I know how scared you are of thunder so I..."

"I'M NOT SCARED OF THUNDER!" Jean shouted, although his voice was shaking slightly. "I-I was just, I was just thinking."

Marco giggled. "I think that's the worst excuse yet."

Jean scowled at the now visible body of the other boy. "You shut up." He hissed, flinching at the bright flash that lit up the sky. Lightning meant thunder. He braced himself for the next violent burst, but was surprised to find Marco's hands fold over his ears before the sound could come. The two toned brunette felt the familiar weight of the boy's body crawl up next to him, and he gave a faint smile of appreciation. "K-kinda pathetic, huh?" Jean asked awkwardly.

Marco laughed. "Yeah, I suppose so." He smiled at the other's annoyed scowl, scooting closer toward him.

"Oh relax Jean, you know I'm just playing with you. Here, how about this," he offered, extending his arms and wrapping them around the boy's shoulders "I'll stay with you here tonight, okay? I won't let the big scary thunder get you."

"Shut up," Jean hissed, but he didn't attempt to push Marco off of him.

Marco giggled and nuzzled his head into the crook of the boy's neck. "You love me." He teased.

Jean felt himself begin to blush, but the light pink dust was wiped from his face as another loud burst of thunder echoed around the room. Instinctively, he yelped and wrapped his own arms around Marco, burying his face in the boy's chest.

"Sh, you're okay," Marco reassured, running a hand through Jean's short, two-toned hair "you're safe, I promise."

Jean felt himself begin to relax as he breathed in the flowery scent of Marco's shirt. "T-thanks," he trembled "r-really."

Marco's arms tightened around Jean a bit and he pulled the other boy down, turning to face him as they lay down. He scooted in closer, holding Jean protectively in his hug. "I do this every time," he sighed with a smile "you don't have to thank me so damn much."

Jean blushed and averted his eyes from Marco's warm hazel ones. "Still..." His voice began to trail off. There was another clap of thunder and he tightened his grip on the other boy's body, but managed to keep himself from whimpering.

Marco smiled softly, running his fingers gently through Jean's hair. "You know," he said sleepily "it's actually really cute that you're so scared of thunder storms. I mean with everything that goes on and how tough you always act, the fact that you're still terrified of something as insignificant as thunder, it's adorable."

Jean blushed furiously, burying his face in Marco's chest. "Sh-shush. It's scary, okay!" He growled quietly.

"Sure, whatever you say Jean." The tired brunette agreed casually. "Try and sleep, okay? I promise the I'll be here when you wake up, nothing bad can happen if you have me here."

Jean smiled softly in appreciation, nuzzling his head into Marco further. The boy was right, the thunder couldn't hurt him, and now that he wasn't alone it was much easier to realize. He relaxed, no longer hearing the angry shouts of the thunder. He listened only to the rhythmic beating of Marco's heart, the soft snore as the boy slept, feeling his head rise and fall with his breathing. Nothing bad could happen with Marco next to him, protecting him, making sure he was safe. He sighed, letting his eyes close slowly as his mind began to clear. Jean felt himself being lost to sleep as the warm, comforting feeling of Marco's arms around him blocked out all of his fear, sending him into blissful dreaming.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Jean's eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the gray light of the morning. He sighed softly, burying his face in his pillow. "Marco, wake up," he said into the fabric "I think the storm's gone..."

That's when he noticed that his bed was empty. He looked around wildly, trying to find the boy, taking several minutes to realize that he was laying in a small ball, his own arms wrapped around him, clutching onto his chest.

The boy's eyes widened as a string of memories flashed across his mind. Their fight with the titans, the amount of soldiers that had died, the motionless half-gone body of his closest friend, staring blankly at nothing.

The image made Jean feel sick and he curled himself into a tighter ball, his body shaking as hot tears began to form. Last night, had that just been a dream? Or a memory?

The teardrops he had been fighting back began to fall as he remembered all of the times that Marco had been there for him, coming into his room in the middle of the night when ever it would storm, holding him closely as the thunder and lightning flashed around the small room, calming him as he shook in terror.

The small trickle of tears falling from Jean's eyes quickly morphed into full blown crying, his body wracked with sobs over his friend. He hugged himself tightly, breathing ragged as the waves of sorrow washed over him.

"N-nothing bad was supposed to happen," the boy cried softly "y-y-you weren't supposed to get hurt. You were never supposed to leave." His voice grew steadily louder and more desperate as he continued to speak. "You were always there, dammit! Than the one time you needed me...the one time you needed help...I-I-I, I didn't...I couldn't..."

Jean's voice faded as his sobbing grew worse, wave after wave of hot, angry tears falling from his eyes. "Why wasn't it me?" He asked himself over and over again in his mind "Why wasn't I the one the got killed? Why did it have to be you Marco?"

"C-come b-b-back," he begged into his tear stained pillow "please...just come back. I promise I'll never let you down again! I'll be there for you, I swear!"

He knew his pleas were worthless, there was nothing left to be done. He couldn't turn back time, no one could. But still, he couldn't stop.

Jean stayed there, crying into his pillow, for almost an hour before he finally ran out of tears. Even then, he couldn't move. He was exhausted, sore, sick of everything, pissed at the whole damn world.

After several long moments, he stood, collecting himself and avoiding another bought of tears. No, he couldn't turn back time or take Marco's place, but he COULD fight. And he would fight, fight until all of the titans were dead, or fight until he could no longer stand. Even if he couldn't defeat them all, he'd be able to see Marco again, and that was all he cared about.

Walking over to the corner of his small room, he grabbed the hilt of one of his swords, lifting it and kissing the blade gently. "Marco," he said, his voice quiet yet strong "I'm coming to see you. It won't be long soon. I promise."


End file.
